Settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act exceeded $2.68 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023, Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer and Civil Division Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton announced last Thursday.
The government and whistleblowers were party to 543 settlements and judgments, the highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year.
Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $75 billion.
“Protecting taxpayer dollars from fraud and abuse is of paramount importance to the Department of Justice – and these enforcement figures prove it,” said Mizer. “The False Claims Act remains one of our most important tools for rooting out fraud, ensuring that public funds are spent properly, and safeguarding critical government programs.”
The False Claims Act imposes treble damages and penalties on those who knowingly and falsely claim money from the United States or knowingly fail to pay money owed to the United States. The False Claims Act thus serves to safeguard government programs and operations that provide access to medical care, support our military and first responders, protect American businesses and
workers, help build and repair infrastructure, offer disaster and other emergency relief, and provide many other critical services and benefits.
“As the record-breaking number of recoveries reflects, those who seek to defraud the government will pay a high price,” said Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. “The American taxpayers deserve to know that their hard-earned dollars will be used to support the important government programs and operations for which they were intended.”
Of the more than $2.68 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments reported by the Department of Justice this past fiscal year, over $1.8 billion related to matters that involved the health care industry, including managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, long-term acute care facilities, and physicians.
The amounts included in the $1.8 billion reflect recoveries arising only from federal losses, but in many of these cases, the department was instrumental in recovering additional amounts for state Medicaid programs.
The recoveries in fiscal year 2023 also reflect the department’s focus on key enforcement priorities, including fraud in pandemic relief programs and alleged violations of cybersecurity requirements in government contracts and grants.
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